Playing time a concern on DYFL travel teams

Thursday

Oct 11, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By John Doylejdoyle@fosters.com

DOVER — The Dover Youth Football League is working to resolve the issue of playing time on its traveling teams.League president Dean Parmer said parents have approached him with concerns about the amount of playing time each player receives during games. The issue came to a head during a meeting with parents last month and at a DYFL board meeting on Tuesday.“We’re still trying to work through it,” Parmer said. Parmer said there are approximately 72 players divided between DYFL’s “A” and “B” teams, with the “A” team consisting mostly of sixth graders and most of the fifth-grade players on the “B” team. The teams play in the Seacoast Junior Football League, which consists of teams from Dover, Portsmouth, Durham and communities as far away as Tewksbury, Mass. Each team in the league plays seven regular-season games followed by playoffs. Parmer said the league is about halfway through its season.Parmer said the challenge the league faces is to form a team that is not so small that it can withstand inevitable injuries and players leaving the team for whatever reason, and not so big that every player can expect a reasonable amount of playing time. Parmer said the sixth-grade team’s roster consists of 40 players, making it a challenge to ensure that each member gets adequate playing time in each contest.“It’s too many kids on one team,” Parmer said. “The idea is to get all these kids into the game and get them playing time, which hasn’t worked out like it should.”Parmer said interest in the program was higher this year than in past years.“Maybe 70 (among the two teams) was too much,” he continued. “Maybe we should have said that when we get to 60, we have to cut off registration. We didn’t. We don’t want to turn anyone away. I hate cutting off registration.”The unintended consequence of choosing not to cut off registration, however, was a glut of players on one roster. Parmer said in years past, there would be more than one “A” or “B” team.Although the league does not have an official minimum-play rule, similar to ones used in other youth sports, Parmer said the board is working with the coaches to ensure that each player gets the proper amount of playing time. “Our philosophy is to get the kids the experience in games and in practices,” Parmer said. “We’ve challenged these coaches to get a good rotation. We have to get this thing to work. It’s not going to be perfect. Not everyone will get the same number of plays, but we don’t want anyone to get in fewer than eight or 10 plays per game.”Parmer said the goal will be to make a good faith effort to get every player in for at least 10 plays a game. But, he noted, that isn’t always easy.“Somebody comes out if they’re hurt, or the ref sees there’s no mouthpiece in there, so he has to sit out three plays,” Parmer said. “Your whole rotation with 40 or so kids can get messed up. If a player is injured and not feeling well you might only want to get them in a few plays. But our coaches are aware of that.”Parmer said at the end of the season, any parent who is upset about his child’s playing time can request a refund. The fee to play for DYFL is $115, which includes use of equipment and uniform.“There are some people who are upset, and rightfully so,” Parmer said. “We don’t want people to have a bad taste in their mouths.”